What an MLB postseason!
After a thrilling month of playoff action — so thrilling, in fact, that it stretched into early November — it’s time for our 2025 MLB All-October team.
Though Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned World Series MVP honors for his incredible performance during the Los Angeles Dodgers’ seven-game triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays, that doesn’t tell the whole story of the month. So to honor the best from every stage of the postseason, let’s hand out hardware to a roster of October stars.
From wild-card-round sensations to World Series standouts, here are the players our ESPN MLB panel of experts voted as the best of the best at every position along with some award hardware for the brightest stars of October.
Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
Why he’s here: Raleigh’s record-setting regular season continued right into October as he belted five home runs and posted a 1.081 OPS before Seattle’s postseason run ended in Game 7 of the ALCS.
Honorable mentions: Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays; Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Why he’s here: If the Blue Jays would have won one more game during the World Series, the introduction of this story would have been all about Guerrero and his incredible October exploits. The Blue Jays’ superstar hit an incredible .412 with a 1.330 OPS during the postseason, delivering signature moment after signature moment while leading Toronto to where it hadn’t been in three decades.
Honorable mentions: Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs; Josh Naylor, Seattle Mariners
2B: Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
Why he’s here: In a down year for the position, Hoerner had the highest OPS (.973) of all second baseman during the postseason while playing stellar defense as the Cubs dispatched the Padres and went on to force a Game 5 against the Brewers in the NLDS.
How little production did second basemen provide this October? One voter chose Miguel Rojas as his pick for the position solely based on one all-important Game 7 swing.
Honorable mentions: Jorge Polanco, Seattle Mariners; Miguel Rojas, Los Angeles Dodgers
3B: Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays
Why he’s here: Clement was instrumental in the Blue Jays’ run, providing consistent production at the plate and solid defense on the field. His 1.032 postseason OPS topped all third baseman and his 30 hits were not only the most of any player this October but set a major league record for most hits in a single postseason.
Honorable mention: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
SS: Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays
Why he’s here: The pickings were pretty slim at shortstop and Gimenez earned this spot more for his clutch hits than his overall numbers.
Honorable mention: Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox
OF: Addison Barger, Toronto Blue Jays
OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
OF: Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers
Why they’re here: If you didn’t know the name Addison Barger before this, you do now. The 25-year-old, who was called up from the majors in mid-April, had a breakout postseason, slashing .367/.411/.583 with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.025 OPS while also making a number of diving catches in right field. But the moment that will ensure Barger’s name is remembered? His pinch-hit grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series — which came after he had slept on a teammate’s pullout couch the night before.
Judge’s postseason performances had long been under scrutiny because of his checkered playoff history compared to his stellar regular-season numbers. But that should all be put to rest after this year, as he accumulated 13 hits in 26 at-bats over seven games and finally met his October moment in the form of a monster three-run, tying home run in a crucial ALDS Game 3 to keep New York’s season alive.
The 21-year-old Chourio came out swinging this October, helping Milwaukee to a hard-won NLDS victory over the Cubs, with a double and two-run single in the first game and a three-run home run — which he hit off a 101.4 mph fastball, the fastest pitch for a postseason home run in the pitch tracking era — to cement another victory in Game 2. Though he didn’t light the world on fire when the top-seeded Brewers were swept in the NLCS, Chourio did hit their lone home run and drove in half of their runs in the series.
Honorable mention: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners; Kerry Carpenter, Detroit Tigers
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Why he’s here: It was something of a mixed October for Ohtani, with his .254/.397/.714 playoff slash line heavily carried by a couple of standout games. But those performances just so happened to be two of the best single-game showings in the history of October baseball: a three-home run game (while pitching a gem on the mound) in L.A.’s NLCS clincher and an all-time World Series Game 3 in which he got on base nine times in the Dodgers’ 18-inning triumph.
Honorable mention: George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays
SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
SP: Trey Yesavage, Toronto Blue Jays
Why they’re here: There was simply no better pitcher in the sport than Yamamoto this October, as the Dodgers ace authored one of the best postseasons in recent history. Before he won World Series MVP honors by winning three games in the Fall Classic, Yamamoto was masterful in a complete-game NLCS Game 2 gem against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Yesavage bursted onto the scene this October in a way rarely seen before, becoming the World Series Game 1 starter just six weeks after making his MLB debut. He provided Toronto with two of the best starts of the postseason — Game 2 against the Yankees and Game 5 against the Dodgers.
Honorable mentions: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers; Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers; Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers; Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees; Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
RP: Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers
RP: Will Vest, Detroit Tigers
Why they’re here: Misiorowski played a crucial role on the mound for Milwaukee as a starter coming out of the pen to throw bulk innings of high-leverage relief — with his first eight career postseason pitches clocking in at 102 mph or faster. In 12 innings over three games, he totaled 16 strikeouts while giving up six hits and three runs (two earned) and issuing three walks.
Vest was nearly unhittable in October as Detroit’s primary closer, giving up only two hits — and zero runs, for a 0.00 postseason ERA — and striking out nine over eight innings to help the Tigers beat Cleveland in the wild-card round and stay competitive against Seattle in the ALDS before they ultimately lost in a 15-inning Game 5.
Honorable mentions: Roki Sasaki, Los Angeles Dodgers; Andres Munoz, Seattle Mariners; Louis Varland, Toronto Blue Jays
October MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Pitcher of the month: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Best October introduction: Trey Yesavage, Addison Barger
Clutch performer: Yamamoto